in film or video, the immediate change from one shot to another; as a verb, to stop the camera from recording

close-up

a cinematic technique in which the subject fills the camera frame; used to focus the viewer's attention on specific imagery or detail

director

the person responsible for the overall unity of a production and for coordinating the work of contributing artists.

Fade-In/Fade-Out

Transitional devices in which a shot fades in from a black field on black and white film or from a color field on color film, or fades out to a black field (or a color field).

low angle shot

a shot that is made with the camera below the action and that typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.

Cutting on action

a continuity editing technique that smoothes the transition between shots portraying a single action from different camera angles. The editor ends the first shot in the middle of a continuing action and begins the subsequent shot at approximately the same point in the matching action.

protagonist

main character

implicit meaning

an association, connection or inference that a viewer makes on the basis of given (explicit) story and form of a film. Lying below the surface of explicit meaning, implicit meaning is closest to our everyday sense of the word meaning

Explicit meaning

significance presented overtly, usually in language and often near the film’s beginning or end.

formal analysis

analytical approach primarily concerned with film form, or the means by which a subject is expressed

film form

the work's style, techniques and media used, and how the elements of design are implementedDefinition

dolly in/ dolly out

slow movement of the camera toward a subject / movement of the camera away from the subject that is often used for slow disclosure

duration

length of time something lasts

Depth of Field

refers to focal length any particular lens can provide. Greater depth of field is deep focus. With deep focus, all planes within the lens’s focus are in sharp focus—thus background and foreground are both in focus.

Eyeline match cut

An editing transition that shows us what a particular character is looking at

take

attempt at a shot

mise-en-scene

all of the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and props, lighting, costumes and makeup, and figure behavior

sound

dialogue, music, ambience, effects tracks

narrative

structured into acts to establish develop and resolve character conflict

Editing

juxtaposes shots to create sequences into scenes to form the movie

sequences

series of shots unified by theme or purpose

scenes

complete units of plot action

content

what the work is about

cinematic language

tools and techniques that filmmakers use to convey meaning

persistence of vision

process by which the human brain retains an image for a fraction of a second longer than the eye records it

phi phenomenon

illusion of movement created by events that succeed each other rapidly

critical flicker fusion

when a single light flickers on and off with such speed that the individual pulses of light fuse together to give the illusion of continuous light

mediation

the process by which an agent, structure, or other formal element, whether human or technological, tranfers something from one place to another

freeze-frame

a still image is shown on-screen for a period of time

realism

interest in or concern for the actual or real, a tendency to view or represent things as they really are

antirealism

an interest in or concern for the abstract, speculative or fantastic

design

process by which the look of the settings, props, ligting, and actors is determined

verisimilitude

appearance of truth

composition

organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of actors and objects within the space of each shot

Production Designer

a person who works closely with the director,art director and director of photography

art director

the person who designs the physical look of the film

setting

environment in which the narrative takes place

set decorator

person in charge of all the countless details that go into furnishing and decorating a set

On Location

Shooting in an actual interior or exterior location away from the studio.

decor

color and textures of the interior decoration, furniture, draperies, and curtains

properties

objects such as paintings, vases, flowers, silver tea sets, guns, and fishing rods that help us understand the characters by showing us their preferences in such things

sound stage

a large indoor area for filming in which all aspects of sound and light can be controlled.

chiaroscuro

the use of deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks within an image

costumes

clothing, sometimes known as wardrobe, worn by an actor in a movie

makeup artist

works with cosmetics, wigs, and other costuming materials to color and enhance a client;s face and body

script supervisor

the person in charge of seeing that all parts of the script are actually shot and that continuity is maintained

video assist camera

a tiny device, mounted in the viewing system of the film camera, that enables a script supervisor to view a scene on a video monitor before the film is sent to the laboratory for processing.

figures

any significant things that move on the screen - people, animals, objects

framing

what we see on screen

kinesis

what moves on screen

reframing

when the frame around a motion picture image can move and thus change its point of view

Offscreen Space

cinematic space that exists outside the frame

on-screen space

the space actually contained with in the borders of the video or motion picture screen

open frame

a frame around a motion-picture image that, theoretically, characters and objects can enter and leave.